Magpie-lark

The Magpie-lark is a familiar black-and-white bird of open country across Australia, roughly the size of a large thrush and considerably smaller and slimmer-billed than the Australian Magpie despite the superficial similarity in coloring. Males and females differ in facial pattern: males show a white eyebrow stripe and black throat, while females have a white throat and black extending through the area around the eye, lacking the white eyebrow.

Despite the name, the Magpie-lark is neither a true magpie nor a lark; it belongs to its own small family of mud-nest builders and is one of Australia's most widely recognized birds, familiar from its far-carrying call and habit of building a solid mud bowl nest.

Key field marks

• Black-and-white plumage, smaller and slimmer-billed than the Australian Magpie
• Male: white eyebrow stripe, black throat
• Female: white throat, black through the eye area, no white eyebrow
• Often seen walking on open ground with a jerky, striding gait

Similar species

• Australian Magpie: much larger, straighter and heavier bill, different plumage pattern with a black-and-white body.
• Pied Butcherbird: solid black hood rather than the more patterned face of the Magpie-lark, and a heavy hooked bill.
• Willie Wagtail: smaller, with a constantly wagging tail and a plain black-and-white pattern without the Magpie-lark's differing male/female facial markings.

Habitat

Magpie-larks favor open country, farmland, wetland edges, playing fields, and parks, generally avoiding dense forest and true desert, and are often found near water where mud is available for nest building.

Range

The species is found across almost all of mainland Australia, largely absent only from the driest deserts, and also occurs in southern New Guinea.

Migration

Mostly sedentary, with resident pairs defending territories, though non-breeding birds can form loose flocks and move locally.

Behavior

Magpie-larks are usually seen in pairs or small groups, foraging on open ground with a distinctive striding walk, and are known for a duetting call performed by paired birds, often accompanied by a synchronized wing-raising display.

Voice

The call is a loud, ringing "pee-wee" or "tee-hee," often given as a duet between the male and female with matched wing movements, and is one of the most familiar bird sounds across Australia.

Feeding

Diet consists of insects and other invertebrates, including aquatic prey such as small crustaceans and snails, foraged from open ground, mudflats, and shallow water.

Nesting and breeding

Magpie-larks build a distinctive solid bowl nest made of mud reinforced with grass and hair, placed on a horizontal branch, often over or near water. Clutches typically contain three to five pale, spotted eggs, incubated by both parents, who also share chick-rearing duties.